


Good Mourning

by kormanine



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies), Frozen - Fandom, Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:02:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24759016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kormanine/pseuds/kormanine
Summary: Anna receives the gift of fire.
Kudos: 3





	1. isolation

**c h a p t e r o n e** **  
** _ISOLATION—_

A Coronian ship docks Arendelle just as the sun spills over the horizon, leaving the girl captivated as she bathes in blues, purples, and oranges. The town seems vulnerable at dawn, like a sun god walking through a sleeping row of ice sculptures. It's nice, quiet, tender, but chilling in a sense, like snow globes over a fireplace.

(She'll grow to resent that comparison in the future: Arendelle is a snow globe, overtaken by storms of glitter and dust that were both beautiful and devastating.)

A man and a woman with crowns upon their heads and blue in their veins compliment the craftsmanship of their boat, admiring each carve and design, the flow of gold linings and magic suns embroidered in rich wood. Coronians treat every creation by their hands like art, and Rapunzel is about to allow these compliments to queue her into a retelling of one of her art history lessons when a freckled hand grabs hers and shakes it into rubber. The Princess of Corona learns this young girl around her age is named Anna when the King of Arendelle scolds her into a pouting stillness.

"We haven't quite gotten that energy under reigns yet," lightheartedly explains the Queen of Arendelle, and Rapunzel immediately takes a liking to the girl. Rapunzel then introduces herself, curtsying just like how her instructor would show her at sunrise: bow the head slightly, pinch the ends of her dress, one foot glides behind the other. The movement makes her shoes itch against her feet. She hates the things, but the absence of them is considered under-dressed, and it had taken her quite a while to find them before they arrived at the dock.

Rapunzel smiles fondly at Anna because she reminds her of spring; of running through flowers and rain. Anna smiles back, and Rapunzel giggles at the gap where a tooth or two should be.

The golden blonde couldn't even breathe at the thought of her hair getting cut, and this girl has already lost teeth and conquered a carefree state Rapunzel could only dream about, outside the walls.

Then, it turns out, even this spring spirit of a girl has been isolated, too.

"Where else have you been on that boat?" Anna asks eagerly once they're inside. Her fingers smudge the seamless glass of the window as she looks out onto the dock.

Rapunzel blinks in surprise because she only knows of brick, wood, clay, stone, and glass. Sometimes the mere thought of grass tickles her toes. The water in her glass cup makes her think about the ocean—sure, she's seen the surface, but what's it like below? How deep is it? What's down there? Is there life? Can she live there? Or is it really just a reflection of the sky, and swimming is actually flying?

(She would _love_ to fly through the ocean.)

Her parents hadn't exactly trusted her being out on the deck with her clumsy little bare feet, so she was planted in the berthing for the majority of the journey to Arendelle. She knows enough to say the ocean spray tastes like salt, but she doesn't know enough to say that she loves the ocean.

The blonde looks into Anna's energetic eyes and says, "I've only ever come here."

"Oh." Anna lays a forearm across the window glass to rest her forehead against it. "Then . . . we should steal it some time."

Rapunzel looks up suddenly from her sketchbook, her mouth gaping. "Um—"

"The _boat_ ," Anna clarifies. "We should steal the boat."

". . . Right."

Soon enough, Rapunzel realizes that she's unable to focus on the harbour like before. Instead, her focus is on the fact that Anna is something untameable. Rapunzel has spent her life between walls and within the mere hour of meeting Anna, theft has already been suggested. Maybe Anna simply knew how to live.

In that case, Rapunzel doesn't know a thing. She's still waiting for a start, a beginning to her story.

"When will that be?" she asks herself.

There's a pause before she hears Anna's sudden voice. "Let's go now!"

Rapunzel stares at her for a moment. "What?"

Anna doesn't spare an explanation—she just hops down from the window sill and races down the hall. " _We're stealin' a boat_!"

"Wait, slow down!" Rapunzel says, struggling to place her sketchbook down before chasing after the other girl. "Wait for me! We were literally _just_ down there, Anna!"

Rapunzel tries to keep up, but Anna runs through the castle like a bird in flight, gliding effortlessly against the newly polished floors. She even spreads her arms as if possessing wings of her own. The golden blonde wouldn't be surprised if she really does.

Once they're outside again, Rapunzel crouches down by the harbour's edge and takes her time to relish in the spray of salt as the wind gently caresses the water's surface, the occasional gust blowing past the two as it struggles and fails to lift Rapunzel's long heavy locks. The Coronian ship doesn't seem quite as large as the Arendelle ones, and it makes sense considering Corona only recently decided to explore the world outside their little island kingdom. She wonders how many other island kingdoms Arendelle has befriended, how many island kingdom there actually are to befriend, if some island kingdoms were greater than other island kingdoms, how big their world must be to fit every island kingdom in an ocean of their own . . . Her mind continues to reel in question after question, her curiosity growing as the ocean spray melts away her troubles and fears.

(She wants to live to answer these questions. She wants to know everything about this world, because she's been outside, she's tasted oxygen, she's witnessed birds building homes wherever they please, and she's watched other people live. She wants so badly for it to be her turn to live; to experience life and everything that comes with it.)

"Have they told you about Elsa yet?" Anna asks, tilting her head to see the blonde.

Rapunzel shakes her head. "Who's Elsa?"

A freckled hand grabs hers once again and pulls her up. Anna brings her to a certain spot, and after a moment she points to where she's looking. "There."

Rapunzel follows her direction and her gaze is led to a particular window. Through that window, Rapunzel sees a girl painted in blues and whites, seated at the window sill as she reads from a leather bound book. As strange as it sounds, there seems to be frost coating the window's edges, causing the girl behind the glass to look almost invisible, even ethereal.

"Sometimes you can see her," Anna tells her, her voice growing faint under the wind. "Sometimes you can't . . . most of the time you can't. But she's there."

Rapunzel looks at the freckled girl beside her. For the first time since they've met, she hears sadness in Anna's voice.


	2. troll hunting

**c h a p t e r t w o** **  
** _ TROLL HUNTING— _

It's the middle of the night, and Anna awakens Rapunzel with a bodyslam to go monster hunting.

"Monster . . . wha?"

"Or maybe just troll hunting, because I know they exist. Or at least I think they do. I've only ever dreamed of them, but everyone says dreams come true, right?"

Rapunzel is rubbing her eyes, scrubbing away her sleepiness as she sees Anna through the darkness of her guest room, hopping off the bed. That bodyslam really hurt. "I don't think it works like that," she mumbles.

"Hm?" Anna raises a brow, adjusting her commoner's hat.

Rapunzel doesn't say anything once her eyes are wide and awake, and Anna suddenly realizes she's being stared at. "What?"

"I've never seen a girl wear shorts before," Rapunzel says.

Anna suddenly beams, her tiny little fists at her waist. "Gerda has a son that grew out of these clothes. She was gonna sell them or something, but I liked them. Though, mom and dad would have a fit if they see me in these clothes, so, you know, you're not gonna see me in these in the  _ morning _ ! Now that I think about it, why don't girls wear shorts? I mean, boys and girls are different, sure, but they're  _ suuuper _ comfy!"

It never seizes to amaze her how surprising this Arendelle girl can be. She's of blue blood, but she flies as if there were nebulae threaded through her braids instead of jewels. It's as if her skin isn't made of the porcelain or marble that a princess is usually carved from, but of steel. Nothing can hold her down.

"You coming or what?" Anna calls, marching out the door. It's a challenge—Anna is challenging her—and if Rapunzel wants to thicken her skin and feel the red in her veins, any hesitance she'd usually have would fade beneath the core of her heart.

/

She's never been through the halls of Arendelle in the dead of night.

The walls stretch in the shadows, and the ceiling towers her like a black hole, threatening to pull her into an empty, upside-down hell. It's cold, really cold, and Rapunzel drags her hands over the goosebumps infecting her arms and wonders how and why the liquefied substance of the sun submerged in her DNA can't make her invincible against the chilling breeze of the Arendelle castle.

Her parents say she's magical. But, honestly, what good does it do her?

She scurries up to Anna, practically nuzzling into the strawberry blonde's hair. "Should we really be out here?"

"Who else is gonna hunt the trolls?" Anna retorts, stopping abruptly, causing Rapunzel to bump into her and stumble back. "You hear that?"

Rapunzel tenses. "H-Hear what?"

Anna hunches her back, her eyes scanning the hall beyond them. She then looks to the left without turning her head, and unsheathes the broken violin stem she kept in her belt in a sudden threat to the shadows near her.

Frightened, a mouse—not a troll—scurries away into the darkness.

". . . Oh," Anna says blankly, placing the violin stem back into its previous position. "Well, doesn't hurt to be too cautious, I guess. That's what mom's always saying— _ woah _ !"

Rapunzel's got her hand, and pulls her down the hall in a panicked rush. Anna forgets to keep her voice down for a second and questions her. Rapunzel's bare feet smack against the sleek wood floors, and she doesn't stop running until they reach another room in a castle, and she's able to block whatever's out there with the door.

"Rapunzel, trolls don't hide in libraries!" Anna complains, before realizing the girl's heavy breathing and frightened eyes. "Hey, hey, you alright?"

"T-T-There, there was something."

"Huh?"

"Something there,  _ watching _ , and it-it— _ someone  _ was watching . . ."

"It could've been the staff . . . oh, no, it could've been the staff." Anna drags her hands down her freckled cheeks, face scrunching up in distress. "They've already given me lectures about my 'expeditions'—"

"No, no, it wasn't the staff, it was . . . she was . . ."

Rapunzel tries her best to recall what she saw, but the hallways were incredibly dark. She could've swore she saw something . . . she thought saw something. But she then looks at Anna—skeptical, confused, genuinely worried Anna—and if the troll hunter herself didn't see a thing, maybe the fear so deeply conditioned into Rapunzel's mind is just getting the better of her.

". . . Maybe I didn't see anything," she mumbles.

Anna frowns at her long face. "Well, maybe you did . . . maybe you  _ didn't _ , but maybe you  _ did _ ! Maybe it was the staff, but let's not make that an option because I don't wanna get in trouble—uh, do you at least know what you saw, or who, or  _ something  _ like that?"

She sees a figure in her head, a cloak of shadows shielding her identity, except for dark colourless eyes that shown like tombstones in the moonlight. In her head, she sees something—someone—born of ashes and smoke with death curling around her like a broken melody.

" _ Witch _ ," Rapunzel says.

"Oh." Anna looks at her, expression remaining unfazed, her bottom lip jutting out. ". . . Want me to kill her?"

Rapunzel looks up at her, mortified.

"You know, how the prince slays the dragon and saves the princess! I'll save you, Rapunzel!"

The blonde has to smile at that. She reads books like that in her free time, and sometimes wonders why a princess would give up their freedom for a throne. "It's fine. I don't really need saving, but thanks anyway."

The strawberry blonde shrugs with a grin. "Any time."

Rapunzel takes a deep breath, attempting to ease her nerves. There's red in her veins, she reminds herself. "We gotta—we gotta hunt for trolls."

Anna places her hands on her hips and puffs out her freckled cheeks. "Right, but there doesn't seem to be any around."

Rapunzel snaps at the lightbulb going off in her head. "Maybe a book can help us!" she exclaims, rushing over to the shelves lining the walls.

Anna watches her strangely. "Books can do that?"

"Books help me all the time!" She traces the velvet and leather spines, the textures reminding her of home. "They help me cook, draw, teach me history— _ oh _ ! This one has trolls!"

Anna's jaw drops before rushing over. " _ Really _ ?!"

There's no light in the room except for the moon, so Anna pulls a box of matches out of her pocket. When the match strikes against the box and the flame comes alive, the amazement in Rapunzel's eyes shines bright in the firelight. The strawberry blonde lights a candle and places it atop the table nearby, as they huddle in the window seat for as much light as possible.

A bookmark has been left inside, leading Rapunzel to a page of letters and a visual of a troll over a lying man.

"Why is that troll watching that guy sleep?" Anna asks with skepticism in her eyes.

Rapunzel begins scanning the words, mumbling incomprehensibly under her breath. Her eyelids flutter with realization as she reaches halfway down the page. "It's magic . . . like a spell. The man in the picture was a king who'd wanted . . . um . . ."

"Wanted what?"

Rapunzel tries angling the book closer to the light, trying to see the words clearly. "It's hard to read . . . something about memories. And powers. And a  _ curse _ —"

Suddenly, a freckled hand covers Rapunzel's mouth. Anna silently nods at the door for the golden blonde to look.

There's shadows moving beneath the door, as if someone were outside, listening.

Anna places a hand on Rapunzel's shoulder, a gesture for her to stay, then Anna slides down from the chair, gripping the "handle"'of the violin bow and sliding it out of its loop like a knight drawing their sword.

The shadows grow restless. It can't just be a single person—if it's even a person at all.

"What is that?" Rapunzel whispers, chills crawling up her spine.

Anna opens the door and is greeted with the dense darkness of the hallway. There's nothing there. The darkness is still. The air is quiet. Rapunzel watches her as she checks the door frame, everywhere around, and finally shrugs at Rapunzel.

Suddenly, the door swings shut, Anna left on the other side.

" _ Anna _ !" Rapunzel rushes to the door, but it refuses to open. The girl wrestles with the door knob, but it seems like a fruitless task. Her tiny palms bang against the door. "Anna! Anna, answer me! Open the door!"

A vision of orange carries her attention to the fireplace as it suddenly bursts in flames, burning in excitement, winking at her in saturated flares. Rapunzel's hands still against the door, then she moves towards the fireplace, listening to it stutter like a flag in the wind, listening to it closely . . . there's a chorus of muted sounds beneath it. She draws closer. It grows louder, more decipherable, more violent.

The fire screams with Anna's voice.

"Anna . . . ?"

The door rattles behind her in distress, but Rapunzel can only hear the talking flames. Then, Anna bursts through the door, grabbing a hold of Rapunzel's arm before the flames erupt in a blazing roar.

Dazed, Rapunzel just misses it—she feels the heat brush against her, caressing her like the devil's touch before she crashes beside Anna. The blonde is quick to scramble to her knees at the sight of her friend again, bringing the strawberry blonde up and latching onto her arms.

"Anna, what  _ happened _ ?! The door closed and you were outside and I didn't even  _ see _ anything but the door  _ locked _ and you—"

"It was the monster!"

Rapunzel can only stare, watching the strawberry blonde as a smile widens between her freckled cheeks, the light of the fireplace reflecting off her eyes. Or maybe her eyes are glowing from the excitement burning inside her.

"I  _ saw _ it, Rapunzel. There's not just trolls out there." Her whispers sheds darkness like a flame, like she's daring the stars to shine brighter for her and lead her into a path towards victory. "You should've seen it—it was—it was ugly! But . . .  _ beautiful _ . And—and next time, I'll hunt it down. I'll bring back its head to show you! It may have gotten away this time, but it'll be back, and I'll be ready for it."

Rapunzel retracts her hands from Anna's arms to clutch the fabric of her nightgown. She attempts to harden her expression, pressing her lips into a hard line as she tries her best not to look so worried. Because Anna is so far away from anxiety to even suggest any doubt in the situation. And maybe there isn't any doubt. There's fear, concern, even worry. But Rapunzel refuses to doubt.

She has never dealt with monsters before, but she's been taught to fear them. They were under her bed and lurking in the closets, ready to devour her and chop off her hair to sell it.

But if a monster had almost claimed her friend, she's not about to doubt herself in making sure Anna isn't taken away from her again.

"I hope you are," she tells Anna. "Because . . . I'll be ready next time, too. I'll help you take down that monster. I promise."


End file.
